HENRY A. PARSONS, Jr., Editor and Publisher. NIL, DE SPER ANDUMi Two Dollars per Annurm VOL. IX. RIDGAVAY, ELK COUNTY, PA., THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 1879. ' NO. 40. - - . ... a ' ., , ., 1 1 t ) V I Thanksgiving Day. The solt gray dawn ol Thanksgiving dny Una parted the curtains of night, And the world Awakes with its hopes and fears, Beginning its life ol entiles and tears With tho new-born morning's light. There are cheerful hearts and lives that are glad, Which wnke to this day of praise; And those whose hearts for a weary while Have long forgotten the joy and smile ' Of life's sunshiny days. Some of us walk in sun-lit paths, Whore flowers grow bright and fair, And some of us tend with tired feet Where shadow and sorrow dally meet, AaftJMe flowers ol lite are rare. r who gather the joys ol earth ily day by day member tho lives that are grieved and sad, And, renumbering, strive to mako them glad, And lighten the somber gray Which lints the heart ol the lonoly poor, And hides from their eyes the light That God has meant to shine for all, As over the world the sunbeams fall To scatter the shades of night. A THANKSGIVING QUERY. " Great land o1 Goshen !" said old Joe Comstock, " what I want to Know is, wbiit.'s tin? use o' Thank'givin' wlien there ain't nothin' to be thankful for? And where's the good o' runnin' arter an onsartainty ? A roiun' stone gamers tirt mnaq " " And a gangin' foot is aye gettin'," said Si Pettingill, the country store keeper. Not but that he agreed with his old friend Joe in deploring the wicked ness and willfulness of his only son's leavinz the homestead and going out West. Si Pettingill hated to see an ultra, wrinkle in his neighbor's fine and florid face, who was only known as old Joe because there was a young Joe grown to manhood. It was only a week before Thanksgiving, and a quepr time for ex tra wrinkles, but Si couldn't afford to lose an opportunity for proving his knowledge of nroverbs. and combating the oracular prophecy of one by that of anotner. ine country store was the high center of argument. No subject was too solemn or too frivolous, too high or too low, too light or too profound, for discussion. "They do say," said Monk, the miller, "that the lit ft and richness o' grain out there is most amazin', and the sile is that soft you can put yer arm clean down to ver elbow m it. It 1 wa9 young 's Joe" And here the miller f mused, for his friend the farmer brought lis band down heavily on an adjacent box of soip. " And ain't his own land rich enough? Ijook at there ten-acre held ot corn, and . look at them punkins! Though, for that matter, where s the use o' corn for turkeys, or turkeys for Thank'givin', if a man's own flesh and blood flies in the face of Providence like mv Joeu" " He ain't goin' before Thank'givin', surely r' "He calkilates to start to-morrow night," said the faimer, dolefully. Then the group about the store ex pectorated witli mournful precision, and hook their heads, and hoped he wou.dn't regret suoh a precipitate abandonment of this world's blessings. Uld doe C.om- stock united his hue pair ot mules, and went jolting away to the Comstock farm, followed by the sympathizing re marks of his neighbors. And as the dust rolled, away, another vehicle was seen approaching, a high-seated jaunty affair with yellow wheels, drswn by a long, clean-limbed creature that was out of sight before his points could be well discussed and criticised. In truth, the good folks upon the porch of the coun try store were more interested in the couple unit were seated iasuionaoiy aloft uoon the eav box of the wagon. A fleeting vision of laughing blue eyes, and yellow curls wantoning with the No vember wind, and tho pale, dark face of a stranger in close proximity to these charms, caused the wise heads upon the porch to wag again with melancholy unison. '"Tain't the natur of the sile that voting Joe complains of." said one, " Nor yet the corn, nor the punkins," said another : "it's that he aint got the stomach for 'em he used to hev before that city fellow broke his wagon in front of the widow rsenson s door, ana took a notion to Kitty." " And I swan to man ef the widow ain't that set up about it she's hevin black Sara to do her fall wlntewashm " She'd better not count her chickens before they're hatched. That fellow don't mean to marry Kitty Benson she'll fall between two stools.that's what Kittv'll do. She'll get shet of Joe, andjose this city chap, alter all. Joe was in dead eai nest, poor fellow, but his chap s only loonn ." Which was not altogether time. The "city chap had begun perhaps in rather a trifling mood. He considered the remarkable interest which he took in this little rustic was all due to his artistic perceptions. About six weeks before, in passing through the village. his horse had stumbled upon a big bowlder in front ol the widow's door and one of the big yellow wheels had come to grief. It was the most natural thing in the world lor Mr. Morton to knock at the nearest door, and equally natural that the widow should ask him in. Kitty lay sound asleep, with her curly head on the kitchen table, all the yellow tangle of it tumbled carelessly about the exquisite line of her brow and enrvfi of her rounded cheek. Her brown lashes just merged into the flush upon her face, ana tier rca lips were panea showing the white even teeth within. " Laws a mercy !" said the widow, with kindly curiosity, "tnere ain't no bod v hurt. I hope?" "Only the wagon wheel," taid Mr, Morton. . "And you want to git to town? Well, now, I reckon Joe Comstock must be up and about yet. I saw ligat at the farm a bit ago. If Joe's up, . he'll take you down to the railroad, He can't he done his chores yet." "I hope he'll bungle long enougfi about his chores to be up when I get there," said Mr. Morton. He had not taken his eyes from the 'sleeping beauty, and was suddenly sur- ftfsed to see her lift her head from her arm and open wide her eyes upon him while the flush deepened in her fan and even stole down upon her throat and the white bit of her neck that was ' Joe never bungles about anything,1 she said. ' "Is he a friend of yours r" said wt. Morton, modulating his voice to a won derfully gentlo tone. "Never mind what he is," replied Kitty, hotlv; "but he's no bungler of that you may be sure." Here sue euppea awny ana vamsiiuu a dark little staircase, and suddenly 1 the charm went out of the picture. "Tlmt. ppntrn.1 figure taken away." said Mr. Morton to himself, as he picked his way to the Comstock farm, "of course the whole effect is marred ; but it was a fine interior very tine." That " central ngure" loiiowea wr. Morton to the farm, and all the way down to the railroad. lie found .foe Comstock up and ready to accommodate im, ano Iliva to conceue u jyiiiot Mint op, wim no bungler: there was a quick capacity about the sturdy hands that handled the reins, and a natural grace and vigor in all his movements the little that he said was terse and to the point, but Mr. Morton found him taci turn and reserved after the first mile or two. He had ventured to speak ot the inmates of the cottage. "I think it probable tlie joung girl . ...... f HnUinfl nnitftr rf t-nSAntr " said Mr. Mortoh. " More n likely," said Joe. " Isn't her name Benson? Kitty Ben son?" I shouldn't wonder if 'twas!" said Joe. and relapsed into gruff monosvlla bles. The road was rougn and oars:, and the drive was exceedingly disagree able. Mr. Morton was glad to fall.haek upon his memory and imagination for amusement, iiie unui lmenoi rue couiu recall vividly enough. Kittv had been asleep for three hours at least, and Joe Comstock was dream ing of her under his patchwork quilt. when Mr. Morton reached the city. It was long alter midnight when be got to the reception, and at least one young heart had lost all-zest in the entertain ment two hearts, for an old one in the vicinity had grown exceedingly heavy as the hours wore away. " It's stranee Mr. Morton don't come Madeline," Mrs. Van Vleet said to her daughter. Yes. mamma," said poor Madeline "Didn't he say he would be here, Madeline?" " Oh ves, mamma ; please don't say any more about it;" and then the elder lady walked majestically awav. the feathers unon her bead nodding in mournful uni son with her thoughts. And at that mo ment Mr.Morton entered.mnkinghis way to a group ot exquisitely dressed and beautiful women, who received him with enthusiasm ; there reaKy were so very few available parties that season, and Mr. Morton .was so unexceptional in everv way. and had shown some de cided, inclination to "range himself," and make somebody comfortable in their mind about the wretchedly uncer tain and procrastinating future. He was still in the market, though his attentions had been rather pronounced ot late to Miss Van Vleet; out she was cold and reserved, and must take her chance the tournament was orien to all ; so all these bcautilul women fluttered their fans, and in their softlv modulated musical voices said charming things to the tardy arri val. But Mr. Morton, with many t winning smile and whispered comnli merit, went listlessly by. His' face wore that vacuous and bored expression which is considered in society an evi dence of cultivation, but in trutli it was only that he was still absorbed in artistic reflections. He went on to the further end! of the room, where in feverish haughty, uncompromising but agonizing reserve sat Miss v an V leet . Her mother had nudged and frowned and beckoned all to no purpose, when Mr. Morton en, tered the room. " You can at least allow yourself to be seen." said her mother, acrimoniously. " If he wants me, he can find me," said Madeline, with a sharp pang of fear and distrust, which deepened when at last he reached her side, and said, in the most commonplace -w ay in the world Did vou save that waltz lor me r And when she looked up in his face with a thrill of delight, and found no response there, only that vague, listless, dreamy expression, ner own beautitul face grew almost haggard with the m tensity of her emotion; it was all she could do to keep the hot, wretched tears out ot her eyes. "Why are you so absent to-night?" she said at last. What is it you are thinking of ?" And then, as they were whirling no. not whirling, but lan guidly stepping about in the waltz, he told her ot ms accident, and described to her minutely the bit of interior which had so charmed him. And there is Svdnev now vou'll excuse me, won't you, if I go over to himr" Certainly she would excuse hiia What else could the poor girl do? Mr. Morton leu Madeline to her mother, and that ponderous female eairerlv whisnered : " Has he SDoken Madeline only tell ine dear, has he spoken?" "Of course not. mamma: how could he, in the waltz P" He was talking so earnestly never saw him quite so earnest before I thought perhaps he had spoken." " He is talking just as earnestly with Mr. Sydney now, mamma: he is inter ested in art just now.'4 The bitterness in the voice ot her daughter tinged acridly the thoughts of poor Mrs.. Van V leet. . I shall not accept the colonel's invi tation for Thanksgiving," she said, dole fully. In the mean while Mr. Morton was endeavoring generou.-Iy to give his friend Sydney the subject for a sketch, and the artist was listening with that quizzical, amused air that was charac teristic to him. " See here, Morton," said Sydney at last, " a horseshoe is a sign of good luck, and your steed Bhcd one, it appears, at the door of this rustic beauty. I believe your heart followed it. Go in and win. old fellow, and then send for me to paint her portrait. I'm not much given to interiors." Joe awoke the next morning and re solved once for all to make an end to these witcheries that half maddened as they gladdened him. He would pluck up courage and settle the matter, so that his dreams might be savored with sober certainty. He knew that no great obstacles lay in his way. His folks were willing, and so were hers; there was nobody to say nay but Kitty her self, and he wasn't much afraid of that. And if he'd only gone there and then and asked Kitty all might have been well ; but he must needs go home and tlon his Sunday-go to-meetin' clothes for the occasion, which took half the heart out of bis resolve, and in the meanwhile a long-limbed horse was making quick work of the road that led to Kitty's door, and a man who was easy in his Sunday clothes every day in the week whs bent upon the same decision. The stiff collar asped Joe's neck as fie went siowiy to the village; his coat was too tight in the sleeves; he grew redder and redder, till lie knew that the doomed hanks giving turkey gobbler's comb was nothing to him; the perspiration rolled from his honest rubicund face, and he began to wish he'd find Kitty out when he got there: he could talk to her mother, and she could talk to Kitty, and it would come Kind ot easier somehow. And suddenly he stepped aside ; there was a rush of wheels in his cars, high yellow wheels, and a vision of some body nailing him politely, somebody with an easy way of wearing good clothes, and something about him'that would have persuaded Joe to take off his hat to him if he hadn't been too mad and flustered and curious and afraid. Joe went moodily on, and suddenly his scarlet face grew rale and the blood in Ins veins grew cold, wnen betoro Kitty s door he saw the high-wheeled newly mended wagon of the city fellow he had driven to the railroad tho other night, and his long-limbed and newly shod horse pawing the gi'ound before Kitty's gate; and presently out came Kitty herself, shawled and hooded, her eves sparkling, tier eneeks glowing, and beside her was the stranger, who nodded pleasantly to Joe. Kitty nodded kindly too. he thought, and it seemed to him Mrs. Benson called him to come in. Joe wouldn t be certain about these things. His head whined around as Kittv drove away ; it seemed to him the whole world took a somersault, and left him. Bick and sore, so that he could just get strength . y . - . I. i. ii j, . i i 10 I'rawi uome to uie larin, ana uon ins hunday clothes, throw them in a heap on the bed, himself upon them, and there lie through the long October after noon, the prey to a misery he had never dreamed ot. The sun went down, the fowls went to roost, and an old hoary owl that might have had more heart laughed mockingly at Joe through his bed-room window. And then Joe, who dawdled so over the asking lor a sweetheart. made up his mind quickly enough to more ruetui work, tor that very night when he went down to supper, and never ate a mouthful, he declared to the good folks assembled there that he intended to go out V est to settle he was sick of the land hereabouts, What the plague's the matter with thelandP" said his father. "It's the seme as 'twas yesterday, nnd then vou ta.kcd ol plouginn' up the meadow next spring, aad drainin' the gully, and the liord knows what and all. Whats come to you now, Joe?" Alas! what, indeed, had come to poor loc? He never made the least effort to regain his footing with Kitty. He gave up an nope oi the sweet luture that had seemed to him his birthright. To marry Kitty Benson, and settle down on the old homestead as his father and grand- tather had done oeiore him. seemed ns natural to Joe as seed-time and harvest He never had the . slightest desire to swerve from the somewhat tame and monotonous life these people led from year to year. Even now his soul was yearning for it, when it wa3 full of re bellion and riot, and bent upon break ing down every barrier that lay between the big tumultuous waves within lnm and those of the unknown world be yond. The weary days went on, each of them heavier and more desolate, in lair wealher or foul, Joe walked and wan dered, aimless, listless and forlorn. choosing the most desolate places, shun ning and forbidding all companionship ot man and neast It was well on in November, and the landscape was somewhat sere and worn The day was waning, and it seemed to Mr. Morton as tney drove along that the warmth had all fled from the scene about them and nestled in Kitty's hair. There was a subdued and timid expression in her face that lent it an unusual charm. 'I he curves about her mouth drooped like those of an aggrieved child, and she had not spoken a word for tho last mile or two. Mr. Morton could hesitate no longer. It would be an easy thing, he thought, to wear away the usual exu berant gayety that d tracted from Kitty's present charm of manner. Witii just one little sigh for poor Madeline Van Vleet, he shifted tho reins to one hand, and with the other took from his vest pocket a ring. A yellow beam of setting sun caught tho gem, and It suddenly shone like a star. Kitty's eyes began to glisten in unison; but she drew back ns he caught her hand. " Nay, darling," he said, tenderly, "do not tremble ; it is yours. You know that I love you ; you will be my little wife" But in the meanwhile the long-limbed animal, which had been somewhat res tive, and required the two hands of his driver, took advantage of this little by play and accelerated his speed. Mr. Morton bad not time to put the ring upon Kitty's resisting finger, when he found his horse pulling heavily upon the reins. He determined to sell this heedless brute of his. The thought lay heavily upon his now ardent sensibili ties that this sweet girl by his side he had never yet held to his heart, nor had her sweet lips been given to his own, and now the moment was gone, and the joy was still denied him, tor the horse went plunging on. A curve of the road brought the cottage in sight . Black Sam was still whitewashing great Heaven, not the big bowlder? Yes, nothing less: lie had somewhitewash to spare, and lie was lathering it thick upon this rock in the road, making it seem big as a mountain. Mr. Morton's face grew pale, and not too soon the evil was unon him in the instant he had feared it; the horse plunged back upon his haunches, his fine ears stood erect, his clean-cut limbs trembled; then with one bound he sned along, grazing the white phantom in the road, and disappearing in a cloud of dust. Mr. Morton olung to the reins, and Kitty clung to. Mr. Morton. Mr. Morton knew now that nothing could save them. A lew minutes tour ot ilm furthest and all would be over, The gully iust below the Comstock farm was a bleak and dreary place, well fitted for the tragedy. He remembered a chestnut tree that hung desolate and bare ever its brink, and broken rocks and black pools of stagnant water lay below. In these lew seconds, that a nnrenthesis between lime and omitv n whole lifetime passed in re- m-et and retrospection. To get rid of renrnacliful eves of Madeline. Mr. Morton shut his own ; but Kitty's whole heart went out in a prayer to Joe which was answered right on the brink of the gully by the melancholy shadow of Joe himself, that clutched at the head of the horse, wasdragged onward a step or two, then pulled aside, and finally was left victor, the beast, quite subdued now and trembling, in a hither of foam. Mr. Morton was tremblir.g as well as his beast, and it was diffi cult for him to quite understand the exact tenor of the scene before him. Kittv lav white and limp in Joe Com- stock's arms; Thcr hanns were clasped about his neck; ner nat was gone long ago. and her curly hair was all tumbled about her face, which was still as white as the accursed bowlder before her mother's door; and once in a while she sobbed out: "Joe! dear Joe!" and Joe soothed her, and held her closer, and murmured: " Kitty 1 dear Kitty!" and the yellow light of the waning November day catching tho diamond again, it gleamed upon Kitty's finger, that lay caressingly upon tho sturdy neck of Joe Comstock"; and presently the little hand shifted about, and Kitty saw the gem too, and slipping down from the arms of Joe, and slipping, too, the ring from her finger, she held it out to Mr. Morton with that same shy, sad, subdued and altogether irreproachable expression that he had admired a few luiperauiu moments smut?. "Keep it. Kitty," said Mr. Morton; " keep it in any case. You'll allow her to accept this little present, won't you, Joe?" i' If it's all the same. I'd as lief she didn't," said 'Joe, with honest simplic ity. And l am giaa Kitty aidn t get the ring: she could wen do without it, and there was a slim and tapering finger far away that had grown slimmer and more tapering lor lack of this gem. The night of the accident it lay listlessly in the lap of Miss Van Vleet. and it did not seem from the apathy ot her face and manner that any thing could induce her to lift that fair, frail finger. The bell rang, but hope had cheated her so often not a hair of her beautiful head or a muscle moved in response. She had ceased to expect the visitor she coveted, and all others were indifferent to her. " I am so glad," said a voice, " to find you alone, Madeline." The voice was so tender it made her heart beat, although she knew how de ceptive that tenderness might be. How sweet it was, nevertheless! Another organ began to thump in the room above, and the mild mahogany of Mrs. Van Vleet s complexion deepened witli anxiety and suspense as the im portant moments .wore away. At last the light step of her daughter was at the door, and Madeline a face told the story. It was radiant with ioy. " Has he spoken?" said her mother, in a husky whisper. " Great heaven ! has he indeed spoken?" " Yes, mamma," said Madeline, toy ing tenderly with a brilliant gem upon her finger. I "Thank God!" said Mrs. Van Vleet. devoutly. "Then I will immediately accept the colonel's invitation lor Thanksgiving." - - t , "And by the hoky!" said old Joe Comstock, "we'll have a Thank'givin' yet. I'm blest if that there boy o' mine didn't say last night. 'Pappy, sez he, 'we'll beain a fence down by that there gully, and drain the hull marsh by this lime next year;" nnd I jest nodded, for I couldn't speak when 1 found that there Western scheme o his had gone to thunder: and. gentlemen. I'm open to a treat all round ; but I ask it, in all honesty, what is Thank'givin' if there ain't nothin's to be thankiui lor."' Harper's Weekly. A Girl Scalped by Machinery. While Jennie Hall, fifteen years old, was stooping over a piece of machinery in a lithographic establishment in Philadelphia, her long, dangling hair caught in a belt, nnd in a second she was completely scalped. The sufterer, with the blood streaming over her face. screamed in an agonizing voice that could be heard a block away.- The wounded girl, who was wild with pain, was taken to a hosnital. Some of her associates became hysterical over the horrible sight. An investigation was made subsequently, when the cause of the accident was ascertained. It ap peared that the girl had imprudently been amusing herself by permitting a lock of her hair to wrap itself around the small vertical shaft. She repeated this twice, but at the third essay the lock became wrapped too tightly around the improvised curling iron to be extri cated and was torn from the head, most of the scalp going with it and consider- .1.1. - r . ' ..f r . 1 . .. r. 1 . 1 i to the brows. In the evening the girl's condition was reported ns favorable, although erysipelas might ensue. Several years ago a somewhat similar iccident occurred to an Italian ladv. the wife of a mill proprietor in the lower part of the city. She was passing through the working room where the looms were clanking away, ner long, beautiful hair, of which she was proud, hanging loosely down her back. A strand of it entangled in a shaft, and like a fl;isli!she,too, was partially scalped The surgeons replaced the fragment dexterously, and perfect adhesion was secured, so that at this day the lady enjoys her glossy tresses as intact as though sue naa never had the terrible experience. The Way Garibaldi Fonght. "I don't believe," said MacMahon, "that ho will ever .be a general. He wants comprehensiveness. He cannot foresee or provide for results in time and space. But he is an admirable partisan When he was in Italy with 5.000 men. one of his spies told him that he had dis covered a couple of leagues off an Aus trian force of about 3,000 men, who were not aware of his proximity, and could be surprised and cut off. The spy was a traitor. There were 12,000 Aus- trians. and the spy had been sent to de coy Garibaldi into attacking them. With his usual impetuosity, he fell into the trap, marched against the Austrians and found when he approached them that they far outnumbered him and were prepared. Most men would have re treated, been followed and destroyed. He attacked the Austrians with such vigor that they thought their spy must wave deceived mem, ano that Uaribaldl wa. in lorce. Ift drove them from their position, and pursued them for a couple of miles, when they discovered the smallness of his numbers and turned back on him ; his troops, active and un incumbered, saved themselves in the mountains.rbnnttfWty Review. In Ootobor, when the woods are glorious in their gcurlut drapery, is the time to seek the autumn leaves and terns. A tevere oold is otten the result ol sdeh plensuie triDS. Dr Bull's Cough Syrup always eures cough and eoius. i nee i3 esnis. TIMELY TOPICS. Next February will have twenty-nine days. Except in leap year, February never has more than twenty-eight days. His true that next February will have five Sundays. They will fall on the first, eighth, fifteenth, twenty-second and twenty-ninth. This occurs once in every twenty-eight years. Its last pre vious occurrence was in 100a, ana alter tho next year it will not occur again this century. The same is true of every other day of the week. For instnnce, February has hve Mondays once in every twenty-eight years. This was last the case in 18G4, and it will occur again in 1602. Washington's headquarters, at Valley Forge, in Pennsylvania, are likely. through the combined efforts of a few patriotic residents of that locality, to be come the property of an association which will preserve it for all time as a memorial of the heroic sufferings in the camp of the Continental army. In order to interest the public in the movement, the projectors have issued handsomely trepared certificates or stock at 35 1 each. Vhen the purchase of the headquarters is effected, it is designed to make it an attractive spot, to collect there relics and valuable papers relating to the pe riod, and to lit up the house in colonial style with furniture of a century ago. A recent traveler had a curious ad venture on the Coco Islands, which he will not easily forget. As soon as the sun had gone down and the moon risen. thousands and thousands of rats, about the size of a bandicot, bore down upon him and made a raid upon his provisions. refusing to be frightened away, and de vouring everything in the shape of grain or biscuit, but not touching anything in the shape of meat. When the bags were hung up in trees, the depredators swarmed after them, and would proba bly have caused a lamine had not the convict s turned the tables upon them by killing ana eating them in great num bers, saying that they were exceedingly sweet. These animals, which are some thing like the marmot, are often called the bamboo rat. An association has been formed in Westphalia for the extinction of pov erty throughout the world. The theory of its promoter", who are not Socialists, is that the wants of mankind have so increased of late years that luxuries are now looked upon even by the poorest classes as necessaries. L.ite, it is urged, may be sustained and comfort insured at a trifling cost by simply putting aside the superfluities ol modern existence This object can only be attained by a complete revolution in our social and domestic habits. Children should be trained from their earliest infancy to look for no other shelter than that afforded by wooden huts. Their food should consist only of bread and vegeta bles, and their drink of pure vwiter. The style of modern clothing, as regards both men and women, is condemned as extravagant, barbarous and unwhole somt. One thick garment of good ma terial tor winter, and one of slighter tex, ture for summer, is all that is required. It is estimated that under good man agement on the new system 850 a vear will be sufficient income for nny person to exist upon comfortably, nnd will leave 11 !.. if l ' I ;. a small margin which, 11 juiii asiue an nually and carefully invested, will araplv provide for all the reasonable wants of old age. The Australians seem to take a great pride in the Sydney exhibition, .which opened formally last September. The project was set on loot by the Agricui- ural society ot isewbouth ft ales, only a year ago, and the government ap pointed a committee of leading colonists, which has since had exclusive control. The building, called officially "The Garden Palace." cost about 1,000.000. and wa3 erected under the direction of contractor, who received a commis, sion of five per cent., the 'government finding labor and materials. Its area is is about seven and a half acres, includ ing nil the galleries nnd basement. In size it of course falls short of the Phila delphia exhibition- the main building of which covered twenty-one and a half acres but it is about one-third larger than the London exhibition of 1851, which was considered a great enterprise at the time. In shape, the Garden palace is cruci form; it has lour towers, and a piural dome 100 leet in. diameter and 210 feet high. Japan and America occupy the space opposite Great Britain, and fronting the nave from the dome to the north tower. The American and Canadian displays were incomplete on the opening'day, but rapid progress was being mane witn them. jNext year Mel bourne will hold an exhibition, which will probably eclipse this in splendor and variety, but Sydney has reason to ioei proud ol the enterprise she has dis played. The Spanish Kuile. The national weapon of the Spaniards. says an English writer, is the knife, and certainly they know how to use it. Talking one day with a young man who seemed likely to know, l asked mm what there was peculiar in the manage ment of the knife. " Why," said he, with a smile, " I could kill you, and you couldn't kill me." " Well." said I. " please point out the difference between us. What would you do first?" "Why. I'd make you wink, and stab you while you w'nked!" " How would you make me winkf ' " Why, so," said he, throwing up his left hand near my eyes. "Well, I could do the same." " Try it," said he. I tried, and found it impossible to make him wink, though I passed my hand up and down several times so as almost to touch his eyelashes. His bright, black eyes, looked out at me unflinchingly all the while. It was clear that his eyes were educated, and that mine were not. I then asked him if there was any pos sibility of an unarmed man defending himself against onermed with a knife. " Oh, yes," said he, " I'll show you ;" and, in an instant, whipping off his coat, he held the end of one sleeve firmly in his left hand, wrapping the rest of the coat rapidly round his forearm, and bringing the end of the other sleeve also into his left hand, where it was firmly held, binding together the whole mass, which formed a sufficient defence against tho thrust of any ordinary knife. I then recollected that one of the marks of the men of the Puerto del Sol, at Madrid, was a slashed cloak, evi dently not so honorable in its origin as the "slashed doublet" of the olden .time. Getting Satisfaction. Half an hour before the morning train over the Canada Southern road was to leave yesterday, a pompous, fat man, with several bundles in his arms, entered the depot with a great rush and made a bee-line for a Grand Trunk train. When halted at the gate and asked what train he wanted to take, he replied : "I am going to Toledo, and if you make me miss the train I'll sue you for damages." " itut tins isn't the tram for Toledo." "Whv isn't it. sir: why in the old Harry isn't this train for Toledo?" loudly demanded the fat man. ' Because the train for Toledo stands over on that track there." "Then why didn't vou tell me so in the first place? I'm a good mind to re port you to your superiors, sir!" " You'll find the superintendent up stairs," humbly replied the gate-keeper. "And I'll lodge complaint against you yes, I will! Travelers have rights, and those rights must be maintained! The fat man rushed half way up-stairs and the whistle of a yard engine made him halt and turn and rush down again. Reaching the gates of the Canada South ern train, ho called out : " It is your business to give warning at least three minutes before the train leaves !" . "And I'm going to do it," replied the gate-keeper; " it is over twenty minutes yet before train time. Please show your ticket." " Show mv ticket! Do you suppose a man in mv position means to steal a ride on the hind trucks?" "The rule is for all passengers to show their tickets." "I don t believe it, and I want your name! I'll go up to the superintendent and see it travelers have any rights iu this depot. Your name, sir!" "My name is Bumps, sir, and I'm a poor widower with seven children to support." 1 don't care a cent n you ve got seventeen children to support. Ill bump Bumps 'till he'll never daresass another traveler!" The fat man rushed up stairs again. and was heard galloping the numerous halls and passages and calling for the superintendent. The janitors passed him along until became down the out side stairs on the public street. "Have a hack, sir!" yelled about forty drivers in chorus. "No, sir no, sir!" he screamed in re ply. "This is alia put-up job to make me miss the train! Where do I go into the depot?" " Have a wagon ?" howled twenty ex pressmen in his ears. "Never! Never! I want to get into the depot! If I miss that train I'll sue the whole city !" He was shown the public entrance. and he made a rush for a Flint and Pere Marquette train just making up. "That isn't the train for Toledo!" called several voices, and lie hurried over to where Bumps was standing and said: "I'll fix you for this, sir! Let me through this gate!" " Ticket, please." " Yes:' I'll show you my ticket, and as soon as t reach Toledo I'Jl make an affi davit of this affair and send it back to the superintendent!" He passed through and entered a coach. A woman was saying that she feared her trunk had not come down on the baggage wagon, and he dumped his parcels into a seat and said : "I hope it hasn't! It will serve you just right to miss it! A person who hasn't got spunk enough to stand right up to these railroad folks and let 'em know what's what ought to lose her trunk! They tried to bluff me around just now, and when they found they couldn't do it they couldn't bo too hum ble and obliging! Go out and blast jhem, madam blast their eyes till they can't rest.!-' Detroit Free Press. The Antiquity of Forks. Among the recent finds in the explora tion of the relics of ancient lake dwellers oflSwitzevland, is a pair of forks, appar ent ,ly invented lor table use. 1 hey were fashioned from the metatarsal bone of a stag. This gives a higher antiquity to table forks (if they were really intended as such)than!hos hitherto been suspected. Other bone implements and ornaments nre frequently found. Animal remains arc also common. Among them are the bones of the dog, the badger, and the common otter. Tho latter were doubt- less met with in the immediate neigh borhood of the lake, but the presence of uiu wiiu on iiim in tuts uuur uuucaie that the lake dwellers were bold and skillful hunters, as well as ingenious tool makers. They were also keepers of cattle, f'jr the most numerous animal re mains brought to light were those of the ot mmon cow and the moor cow, . These exist in every stage of growth, showing that their owners had a taste for both veal and beef, while their fondness for venison is proved by tho many bones of the stag and roe discovered by the ex plorers. Evidence of a like character show that they were hunters of the wild boar and eaters of the domesticated pig, and the existence of the beaver in Switzerland in prchistorio times is at tested by the presence, among other bones, ol several which comparative anatomists declared to have belonged to that rodent. One omission on the list is striking. No mention is made ot the bones of horses having been found, from which it may be inferred with tolerable certainty that the horse was either alto gether unknown to the ancient lake dwellers, or that they had not succeeded in capturing and taming him Scientific Amervxi h. An Experiment In Hanging. In the Leadville (Col.) Herald is a thrilling narrative, descriptive of an in cident at a mining shaft on tho Big Evans. While tho miners were at din ner, one of them a young fellow bet hve dollars he could bear to be lilted from the bottom of the shaft by mear-s of a rope. He claimed that It would be so in Kngianaaiso, uie numoer oi tie necessary only for him to hold his head potitors in the postal savings bank is in such a position that ine (pressure oi the noose would fall upon the back of the skull. Tying the rope around his neck, he went down the shaft and sig naled to be drawn up. In two seconds the foolish young man lelt las terrible mistake. He tried to call out, but the rope tightened and the blood tilled his head almost to bursting. The men at I lie lop oi uie siiait. uaving no iu.nu in his claim, hoisted him up as fast as they could. When he reached the surface his .... c . . i . v i r . i . i eyes were startin from their sockets, ii ... i l. 111a BWUOitttu tongue - uuux num ms moutu.and he had .been hung literally. It was only by the most vigorous and un wearying treatment that ho was at last restored, to lite. Thanksgiving." Only a song of praiso from earth to lienven, A keynote through the chord of time, . Which marks another year. Only heart thnnks tor bounteous blessings given, One stanza more in life's sweet rhyme, For all which makes lile door. Only a fond embrace of heart to heart, An hour of bliss in childhood's homo With " father," " mother " there; On'y a germ ot all that makes a part Of " giving thanks " in life to come, Is our " Thanksgiving" here. Mr. Chat. F. Fernald. ITEMS OF INTEREST The woman question : " Why did you stay out till this unseemly hour, sir?" Btiffah Express. Joseph Abair, of Winooski, Vt., is the father of a. boy six years old that weighs one hundred and five pounds. Cnjsar's motto was to always be first, but when it comes to fighting a duel wo prefer to be second. Boston Post. " The music at a marriage procession," says Heine, always reminds me of the music of soldiers entering upon a battle." A new song is entitied " My Love She is a Kitten." Kittens scratch like the mischief, and so perhaps does his love. Norristown Herald. " We are living at present in the very arms of tyranny, exclaimed a western scribe. Aha! just been married, have you? Waterloo Observer. A maiden lady of our acquaintance has resolved to change her name to " Conclusions," having heard that men sometimes jump that way. The bureau of engraving hasn't a sin gle ten-dollar bill in'its reserve stock, and the Rockland Cowrter wakes up and yells, "Neither have we." W. T. Blackwell, the great tobacco manufacturer of Durham, N. C, pays more taxes to the government than any one man in the world, to wit, $520,000 a year, $10,000 a week, or over $1,428 per day. Experiments recently made on the Lake Shore railroad prove that petroleum can be successfully used as fuel for loco motives with a great saving of money beside doing away with smoke and cinders. A house too closely haded by trees will be apt to suffer from dampness. In building, let the living and sleeping rooms, as far as possible, face toward the south, and thus gain the advantage of the sunshine. The sun is a great power of health. They were out driving. Said Theo dore : " What tree, Angelina, bears the most precious fruit?" Angelina "Oh, Dory, 1 can t ten, unless it s a cnerry tree." Theodore looked unutterablo sweetness as he gazed into Angelina's eyes and said, " The axle-tree, darling." The Choctaw nation, which numbers about 17,000 people, has forty schools and two academies. It also pays for the college education of twenty-two stu dents in the States. The office of super intendent of education is elective, and has been held by a Choctaw for four years. The giraffe is a singular animal. If Romeo" had been constructed on the giratt'e plan, the b-ilcony scene would nave been much more interesting. He wotTld have been enabled to "snatch immortal blessings from her lips," with out barking his shins in an ineffectual endeavor to climb up a stone wall. Xorrislown Herald. When two voung people, with a sin gleness of purpose nnd doubleness of aft'eetion, sit up with each other, and when the clock strikes twelve, he says: Is it possible?" and she says, "Why, I didn't know it was so late?" you may draw your conclusions that if the busi ness boom continues, a unified couple will be hunting a houseto rent in the raring. Slculwiville Herald. A young man not more than twenty two years old, a son of one of our best families, says the Burlington Hawleye., came into this office yesterday and offered us three dollrrs to print a paragraph stilting that a young girl had been fatally poisoned, dying in indescribable agony, from eating oysters at a church sociable. We have enough mercy on the young man to refrain from publish ing his name, but the next time any man tries to save seventy-live dollars by a three dollnr paragraph in goes his whole nedigree, At the m-inclnal railroad stations in India the native passengers nre Eerved with water by a Brahmin, from whom, being the highest caste, all persons may take without defilement. He goes along the train with his brass vessels; a sudra, for low-caste man, stops, and in his open hands placed together and raised to the level of his mouth, receives the precious liquid. The vessel of the Brahmin is not touched, else he would be defiled. A Brahmin asks water, and is served with it in the t mailer vessels, from which he drinks, there being no defilement between Brahmin and Brah min. Nineteenth Century. How Many People Havo Fifty Dollars. Some one said the other day that in tho entire world the number of people who hnd $50, or its equivalent iu cash, at their command was extremely small so small, indeed, that altogether they would not utnumber the inhabitants of the little kingdom of Belgium, which has a population of 6.000,000 souls. But this estimate anoears to be far below tho mark in the light ol the fact that in the savings banks of France in 1877 there were deposited no less than $153,800,. 000 by 2,803,283 depositors, the average sum of each depositor being $00. Tho number of these depositors continually increases, and they are, to a very large extent, members of tho working classes. very targe not less, on uie wnoie, man two millions ana their deposits, on an average, amount nearer to $250, the limit allowed than to $50. In Scotland and Ireland the savings of the people are large and constantly increasing, in Germany the people xlo not generally place their savings in banks, but they nave comfortable little sums laid away I t . . . , . l 1 i. : ,. rpui. I in leupoiH anu oiu Biocmiiga. xiiib, I also, is the case in France. In this I country the number of peaple who have $50 at their command must amount to . i rn. i uuuo ns umuj na iu cituci x- ihlvc, vici many or ureat uruain. ine worm o working people Is not nearly so poor a many imagine It to be. A' w Jbr Oraphio.
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers